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Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas. The population of the city is 99,940. It serves as one of two regional hubs in the Permian Basin, along with Midland. Demographics As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is: 53.00% Hispanic or Latino (52,968) 39.62% White (39,596) 5.12% Black or African American (5,116) 2.26% Other (2,260) 9.9% (9,894) of Odessa residents live below the poverty line. Theft rate statistics Odessa has average rates of Pokemon theft and above average/high rates of murder. The city reported 54 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 7.11 murders a year. Pokemon See the Ector County page for more info. Fun facts * The city is said to have been named after Odessa, Ukraine, because of the local shortgrass prairie's resemblance to Ukraine's steppe landscape. * Odessa is home to the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa College, a campus of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a satellite campus of the Permian Basin Battle Academy. * Local TV stations in Odessa and Midland include KMID 2 (ABC), KCWO 4 (The CW+), KOSA 7 (CBS), KWES 9 (NBC), KUPB 18 (Univision), KPEJ 24 (FOX), KWWT 30 (MeTV) and KPBT-TV 36 (PBS). * Odessa was founded in 1881 as a water stop and cattle-shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway. The first post office opened in 1885. Odessa became the county seat of Ector County in 1891 when the county was first organized. It was incorporated as a city in 1927, after oil was discovered in Ector County on the Connell Ranch southwest of Odessa. With the opening of the Penn Field in 1929, and the Cowden Field in 1930, oil became a major draw for new residents. In 1925, the population was just 750; by 1929, it had risen to 5,000. For the rest of the 20th century, the city's population and economy grew rapidly during each of a succession of oil booms (roughly in the 1930s–50s, 1970s, and 2010s), often with accompanying contractions during the succeeding busts (particularly in the 1960s and 1980s). * Odessa is known for its "Kiss and Kill Murder" in March 1961. Betty Williams, an Odessa native, was killed by Mack Herring because he claimed she begged him to. Her body was discovered in a stock pond several miles outside Odessa. Mack Herring was tried, and acquitted based on temporary insanity. In 2013, Odessa had the highest rate of violent crime in Texas, with 806.4 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. * Historically, the Odessa economy has been primarily driven by the area's oil industry, booming and busting in response to rises and falls in the crude oil price. Many of the city's largest employers are oilfield supply companies and petrochemical processing companies. In recent decades, city leaders have begun trying to decrease the city's reliance on the energy industry to moderate the boom-bust cycle and develop greater economic sustainability. The city's efforts to gradually diversify away from the energy industry have led to a growing role for the logistics industry, using Odessa's location along the major road and rail links through West Texas. Odessa is a stop on the Entrada al Pacífico trade corridor. The city became home to major retail distribution centers for Family Dollar in 2003 and for Coca-Cola in early 2007. Odessa has also taken steps to diversify the energy it produces. A new wind farm has been constructed in northern Ector County. A new coal pollution mitigation plant has been announced for a site previously entered in the Futuregen bidding. The new plant will be run by Summit Power and will be located near Penwell. This new plant could lead to the creation of 8,000 jobs in the area. Plans are in place for a nuclear power plant to be run in conjunction with the nuclear engineering department at University of Texas of the Permian Basin, called High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor. This reactor is planned to be near Andrews. * Odessa's main enclosed shopping mall is Music City Mall, which includes Dillards, JC Penney, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, an indoor ice skating rink, and a television station. Construction of new retail in recent years has been concentrated on the city's northeast side. In November 2007, the city approved a contract with a company that develops armaments for US Army helicopters to begin operations in Odessa. * The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Odessa District Parole Office in Odessa. * Odessa has plenty of amenities to offer. It has dollar stores, electric showers, plenty of fast food, some shopping centers, a few truck stops, H-E-B, Walmart, Nintendo World, Lowe's, Home Depot, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Target, Solstice Apparel, some chain restaurants, Odessa-Schlemeyer Field, Sam's Club, plenty of local restaurants and businesses, plenty of public battle fields, some contest halls and showcase theaters, some auto parts places and car dealerships, some sports complexes, Tractor Supply Co., Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory, Globe of the Great Southwest, Midland–Odessa Symphony and Chorale, The Permian Playhouse, MCM Grande Hotel & Fun Dome, Taqueria Guadalajara, Star Game, Albertsons, a country club, Ratliff Ranch Golf Links, Sunset Golf & Country Club, and a bit of other things. Category:Texas Cities